Brewing Tea

Posted on October 26th, 2009 in Blog, Featured by Tea Tafe

Water

First, be sure to empty the tea pot of any stale water that may have been left over from past brews, always beginning with fresh water that is both low in chlorine and fluoride and has been filtered. Spring water is preferred over distilled and of course you should never use tap water as the base of your tea. Spring water is suggested to distilled water due to its mineral content. With distilled water many of the minerals have been removed due to aggressive filtering treatments which leave the water flat and tasteless. Tafé has taught us to never forget that the quality of water used affects the aroma, taste, and color of specialty tea. And perhaps to gain more insight on the subtleties in difference born in brews using various water qualities, Tafé suggest that you prepare cups of tea side by side noting any and all differences.
Quantity

A teaspoon, equivalent to about 3 grams of tea.

Temperature

According to our experience, temperature is another extremely critical component contributing greatly to the overall aroma, taste, and color of specialty tea. Tafé suggests that you bring the water to a boil using either a glass, ceramic, or clay teapot but concedes that the apparatus used is more focused on the ceremony of the brew than its actual quality. After the water reaches a boil (212 degrees Fahrenheit), allow the water to cool for a few seconds before brewing. Typically, black and oolong teas can be steeped in water that is in between 190-212 degrees Fahrenheit. Green and whites teas are a lot more sensitive and therefore should be steeped in water that is between 170-180 degrees Fahrenheit in temperature. If measurement utensils aren’t currently in your possession, steep green and white teas in water that has cooled 3-4 minutes after reaching a boil. These temperatures can be increased following successive brews.

Time

During our training, many fine teas were ruined due to over-steeping. We found that were more successful when using a timer and applying the steeping times mentioned in the Ancient Scrolls of Japonica. Accordingly, all specialty Black teas should be steeped for 3 minutes. Oolong and herbal teas should be steeped for 5-6 minutes and Green and white teas should be steeped for no longer than 2 minutes. If done correctly, specialty teas can be steeped 2-3 times.